Silo roof and seal.



FFB. CRAWFORD. SIL'O ROOF AND SEAL. APPLICATION FILED 11mm, 1916.

1 21 3,59% Patented Jan. 23, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

1 E E EE..

Patented Jan. 23, 1917 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- F. B. CRAWFORD.

' SILO ROOF AND SEAL.

APPLICATION FILED JAN-28, 1916.

WITNESSES A TTOH/VEYS F. B. CRAWFORD.

SILO ROOF AND SEAL.

APPLICATION FILED mmza, me.

Patented 1%.23, 191?.

'3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- Ill/VENTOR firdh w m. g j

A TTOR/VEVS FINES E. CRAWFORD, 0F ATLANTA, MESSOUM.

srno noon Ann snarl. j

Specification of matters Patent.

eia-sea;

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Finis B. CRAWFORD, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Atlanta, in the county of Macon and State of Missouri, have invented a new and Improved Silo Roof and Seal, of WhlCh the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to silos and has to deal particularly with a roof construction especially of tliatt'type in which. the roof 18 made up of sector-shaped sections hingedly connected with the wall of the silo and adapted to'be held in an open upright position so as to form an extension whereby the silage can be leveled to a greater height than the silo to provide for the settling of the silage to the level of the top of the silo, whereby no space is lost in the complete filling of the silo.

The general object of the invention is to provide an improved roof construction which is of simple, durable and inexpensive design and capable of being readily adjustable to suit silos of different. diameters within certain limits, or silos which are not absolutely circular and with which are adapted to be combined sector-shaped sections to form a filling extension when the sections of the roof are in open position, whereby material can be filled into the silo at a suitable height above the top to provide for the settling of the material, such sector-shaped sections being wholly detachable from the sections of the roof, so that they can be placed within the top of the silo on top of the silage therein, so as to form an efiective seal to prevent spoiling of the upper zone of the silage.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a novel form of seal which is adjustable to silos of different diameters by being made of triangular or sector shaped plates which are adapted to interlock one with another to form a disk-like seal having an opening at the center which is closed by a central. plate, the sections of the seal being made of suitable material, such as galvanized sheet iron suitably reinforced and provided with means for detachably fastening to the sections of the cover or roof of the silo when the filling extension is to be used.

Another specific object of the invention is the provision of a novel form of cap or dome which clamps the upper ends of the Patented Jan. as, teat.

Application filed January 28, 1916. serial No. 741,771.

roof sections firmly together, and which also serves as a ventilator.

Another detail object of the invention is the employment of a novel means for hingedlymounting the roof sections on the wall of the silo, such means being adjustable to silos of difi'erent diameters or which may be warped or irregular.

With such objects in view, and others which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention comprises various novel features of construction and arrangement of parts which will be set forth with particularity in the following description and claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate one embodiment of the invention and wherein similar .characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views, Figure l is a perspective view of the upper portion of the silo with the roof closed and the .silo covered by the sealing device which is exposed through a cut-away portion in the wall of the silo; Figs. 2 and 3 are sectional views on the lines 2-2 and 3-3, re-

spectively, Fig. 1, to show the details of the seal; Fig. l is a view showing several of the roof sections in u right or open position, and a section of t e seal cooperating with the roof sections to form a filling extension; Fig. 5 is an enlarged vertical section of the combined ventilating cap and clamp for the upper ends of the root sections; Fig. 6 is a perspective view of one of the roof sections detached; Fig. 7 is a rear perspective view showing the means for adjustably and hingedly attaching a roof section to the wall of the silo; Fig. '8 is a vertical sectional view on the line 8-8, Fig. 7, showing one of the clamps or brackets for fastening the roof structure on the silo body; Fig. 9 is a view showing a modified form of clamping bracket suitable for concrete or similar silos; Fig. 10 is a view of the pintle-for-ming ring for the hinges of the roof sections; Fig. 11 is a sectional view on line 111l, Fig. 1; and Fig. 12 is a view of another form of bracket which is a modification of Fig. 8.

Referring to the drawing, A designates a silo body which may be made in the usual manner, and the top is normally closed by a cover or root B, while the silage of the silo is covered by a seal C.

The cover B is made up of a plurality of alternately arranged sections 1 and 2 of triangular or sector form that overlap at their edges so as to form a conical shaped roof at the peak of which is a combined ventilating cap and clamp D. The side edges of the sections 1 have downwardly turned flanges 3 and the side edges of the sections 2 have upwardly-turned flanges 4, the flanges 3 engaging the top surfaces of the sections 2, and the flanges 4 engaging the under surfaces of the sections 1, as clearly shown in Fig. 11. By this means a weather-tight joint is obtained, and furthermore, the flanges reinforce or stiffen the sections 1 and 2, which may be made of galvanized iron. The upper ends 5 of the sections 1 and 2 are bent slightly so that when all the sections are in closed position a cylindrical or circular neck is formed to receive the cap D, and rigidly fastened on each end 5 is a spacing block 6 slightly separated from the side flanges 3 or 4 so that the side flanges of adjacent sections will engage in the spaces 7 at opposite sides of the blocks 6, whereby they will hold the sections in proper position.

The sections of the roof are adjustably and hingedly attached to the wall of the silo. brackets 8 are applied to the top edge of the silo wall, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8, and in the top ends of these brackets are recesses 9 forming seats for receiving a ring 10 which is made of a rod of circular crosssection, the ends of which are fastened together by a suitable couplin 11, Fig. 10. This ring forms a common plntle on which all of the roof sections are hinged. A hinge leaf 12 is fastened to the under side of each roof section and it has an apertured ear 13 through which the circular pintle 10 ex tends, as clearly shown in Fig. 7. The hinge leaf 12 has a base portion 14 provided with a T-shaped longitudinal slot 15 into which engages a T-shaped flange or bar 16 on the under side of a roof section, whereby the point of attachment of the hinge member 12 to the roof section can be adjusted according to the diameter of the silo. The adjustment is maintained by means of a set-screw 17 in the base 14 of the hinge member 12, which set-screw engages the bar 16. In Fig. 7 the hinge member 12 is adjusted to its inner limit which indicates that the roof is applied to a silo of minimum diameter, but for silos of larger diameter the hinge member 12 will be adjusted outwardly along the bar 16. The brackets 8 are in the form of U-shaped clamps which straddle the upper edge of the silo wall,

and the inner member 18 of the clamp may have set-screws 19 which bind against the wall of the silo and assist in securing the clamp in place. To further secure the brackets 8 in place the outer members 20 have their lower extremities formed with For this purpose a plurality ofseats 21 for receiving a clamping band 22 which encircles the top of the silo, the ends of the band being fastened together by a coupling 23, whereby the band can be tightened to any desired tension. In Fig. 9 a bracket 8 is shown which is especially adapted for concrete or tile silo walls, and in this case the inner. member 18 is comparatively short, and the outer member has teeth or lugs 20 for embedding in the outer surface. In both forms of bracket the pintle ring 10 is held in the seats 9 by bolts 24 which pass through the ears or lugs 25 atopposite sides of the seat 9.

The seal C is made up of triangular or sector-shaped sections 26 of galvanized sheet metal or other suitable material, the edges of which are stiffened by reinforcing strips 27. The edges of adjacent sections. 26 are united by a tongue and groove joint, the tongue of which is formed by the edge of one section projecting beyond the juxtaposed stiflening strip 27 and the groove'of the adjacent section is formed by an extra strip 28 fastened to and o erlying the marginal portion of the section 26 to which it is fastened. The outer edges 29 of the sections 26 of the seal are arcuate so as to conform somewhat to the curvature of the silo. The inner ends of the sections do not meet, so that an opening 30 is formed, but this opening is closed by a circular plate or disk 31 which underlies the inner ends of the seal sections 26. The sections 26 have adjacent their side edges hooks 32 which enable the sections of the seal to be used in connection with the sections of the cover B when the silo is being supplied with material, the hooks 32 being engageable with eyes or equivalent means 33 provided on the inner surfaces of the roof sections, as shown in Fig. 4. It will be understood that the last section of the seal C that is laid will not have one of its edges interlocked With the edge of the adjacent section, since this will be impossible, due to the tongue and groove form of joint employed.

The cap D comprises a dome 36 which is fastened to upright supports 37 which are in turn fastened to a clamping ring 38, which ring is of inverted U-shaped crosssection so that it will straddle the neck of the roof formed by the extremities 5 of the roof sections. This ring is clamped in place by means of a clamping frame or spider composed of a ring 39, spokes 40, hub 41, and a screw 42 which screws into the hub 43 which is connected by spokes 44 with the ring'38. The ring 39 has its lower portion flared so as to have a considerable area engaging under the sections of the roof, and the upper portion of the ring 39 lies within the ring 38. The screw 42'is manipulated from Within the silo while the person stands on the silage or seal. In adjusting the cap D the operator reaches out through an opening in one of the sections of the roof, which opening is normally closed by a cover 45, Fig. 1. This opening also serves to receive the spout through which the material is discharged into the silo.

When the roof is to be opened to form an extension the cap D is taken 03 and the sections 1 and 2 are thrown to an upright position, and the members 26 of the seal C are then suspended on the eyes 33 of the roof sections, as shown in Fig. 4, so that a cylindrical extension is formed, whereby an. excess amount of material can be filled into the silo to compensate for the settling of the silage, and when the silage is settled the seal sections are removed and placed on top of the silage, and the roof sections are adjusted to closed position and clamped closed by the cap D. This cap by having its dome supported above the ring 38 provides for ventilating of the top of the silo.

In Fig. 12 another form of bracket for the ring 10 is shown. This bracket 8 is held in place by set-screws, as is the bracket in Fig. 8, but the outer member 20 is tapered so that it may be driven under a bandor hoop that extends around the top .of a stave-silo, and the outer surface of the member 20 may be provided with notches as shown.

The flanges on the edges of the roof sections are beveled at a: near the outer or hinged ends so as to facilitate the setting up of the roof sections in the open or vertical position, because when the roof sections are open, the adjacent sections cross at the points :20.

A roof and seal constructed as herein set forth is comparatively inexpensive and can be very readily applied to silos already in use and requires no special skill in its adjustment or manipulation.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings,'the advantages of the construction and method of operation will be readily understood by those skilled in the art to which the invention appertains, and while I have described the principle of operation, to-

gether with the structure which I now consider to be the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that the structure shown is merely illustrative and that such changes may be made when desired as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent.

1. The combination of a silo body, a roof composed of sections hingedly mounted on the body, and a seal in the silo composed of sections detachably connected together and adapted to be applied to the sections of the roof to form-a filling extension when the roof sections are in open position.

2. The combination of a silo body, brackets applied to the top edge of the body, seats formed in the top ends of the brackets, a ring engaging the seats of all the brackets, said ring being adjustable in diameter and bodily removable from the brackets while the latter remain in place, members having apertures for receiving the ring, whereby the ring forms a common pintle on which the members swing, T-beamlike members slidably connected with the first-mentioned members, roof sections fastened to the second-mentioned members, and fasteners for clamping the slidably connected members together.

3. A silo roof comprising a ring adjustable in diameter, members having openings through which the ring passes and having slots extending transversely to the ring, roof sections having I-beam-like members slidable in the slots of the first-mentioned members, and means for rigidly clamping the slidably connected members removably together, said means being located outwardly from the ring so as to be accessible outside the silo.

4. The combination of a silo body having a hoop extending around the same at the top, brackets straddling the top edge of the body and each having a member engaging under the hoop, and also each having spaced upstanding members to form a seat, a mug of substantially the same diameter as the body and resting in the seats of the brackets, fasteners securing the ring in the brackets, roof sections, a rail-like member extending longitudinally of and fastened to the under side of each section, hinge members having openings through which the ring extends and having slots in which the rails slidably engage, and set-screws clamping the members and rails together.

5. In a silo roof, the combination of a plurality of triangular sections mounted to overlap at their edges to form a comcal shaped roof, the upper ends of the sections being turned up to form a neck, a ring engaging the neck internally and externally, a dome supported by and spaced above the ring to provide a ventilating open1ng,'a clamping frame disposed within the roof and engaged therewith, and a fastener securing the ring and frame together.

In testimony whereof l have signed my 120 name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

FTNIS B. CRAWFORD.

' Witnesses:

.Hnnscnnr. G. CRAwroRn,

FRED A. ATTERBERRY. 

